Utility Management Providence Health System - Oregon Environment of Care.

Utility Management

Providence Health System - OregonEnvironment of Care

Purpose

You need to:Have a basic understanding

of what utilities do and how

they support patient care.

Effectively respond / support

patient care if one of these

systems fail.

EOC Manual

EOC Manual

The hospital utilities support all the essential building

systems and medical equipment used to care for patients.

Control Panel for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC)

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:Identify each utility and state it’s function.

Know how to report a utility failure and obtain repair services.

Identify Code White as the utility failure code for the hospital.

Know how to access your department’s Utility Contingency Plan.

Know how to prevent electrical shock.

What Are Utilities?

Utilities are basic buildingservices. They include:

ElectricityWaterSewerNatural GasMedical GasesPneumatic Tube SystemsTelephonesComputers

Electricity

When normal service fails, the generators support:

Essential building systemsFire safety systemsMedical equipment plugged into RedRed outlets

Emergency Electrical Service is supplied from the hospital’s emergency power generators.

The hospital also has a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

system. It permits power sensitive equipment to function normally

during transitions in power supply. UPS outlets are orange.

Few Satellite buildings have emergency powered generators.

Natural Gas Service

The hospital uses natural gas as the primary fuel for the boilers to make steam and hot water. Natural gas also supportsfood service and lab processes.

The hospital has backup diesel fuel supplies to fire the boilers if the natural gas supply fails.

Water and Sewer

Water is needed for:

Drinking and cooking

Bathing and cleaning

Flushing the toilet

Steam production

Heating and cooling systems

Cooling some clinical equipment

The Sewer Service allows for

waste disposal from the facility.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC)

The functions of HVAC include:Heating to support room comfort

Ventilation to support air quality

and infection control

Cooling to support human comfort

and in some locations equipment function

Piped Medical Gases

Medical gases include oxygen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide.

They are supplied from the hospital medical gas storage systems.

Medical gases are distributed to specific outlets throughout the hospital.

Medical Air is also distributed via special outlets throughout the hospital.

Fire Protection System

The fire protection systems are operated and maintained by the Hospital’s Physical Plant and the Satellite’s Maintenance Departments.

Smoke detection systems are designed to operate at all times.

Fire sprinklers turn on when a defined temperature is reached.

Fire alarms are triggered by either the smoke detection or fire sprinkler systems. They produce audible alarms and visual strobe signals.

Additional Systems

Additional systems include:Medical Vacuum System

Pneumatic Tube System

Computers

Telephone Service

Utility Management

The Physical Plant Departmentmanages most utilities.For assistance, call:

(PPMC) 503-215-6105.(PSVMC) 503-216-5000.(PMH) 503-513-8877.

Information Services manages computers, printers, software applications, telephones, voice mail, and pagers. For assistance, call the IT Help Desk at 503-216-2800.

For the Satellites, the Maintenance Departments are listed in the Emergency Flip Chart.

Utility failures may include:ElectricityWaterSewerNatural GasMedical GasesPneumatic Tube SystemsTelephonesComputers

The purpose of a Code White is to alert employees to a hospital-wide failure of one or more utility systems.

CODE WHITEWHITEUtility Failure

All departments throughout the Portland Service Area have Utility Failure Plans that identify what action you need to take in the event of one or more utility failures.

You need to know the location of your Utility Failure Plan.

Contact your Safety Manager, Department Manager, or Safety Coordinator if you have any questions.

Utility Failure

Emergency Shut Off

Only the Nurse Manager or their designee can shut off medical gases in response to a request from emergency responder/s (i.e. Fire Department).

Electrical Shock

Electrical shock happens when a person becomespart of a short-circuit.

This can happen if a person touches:

A damaged electric deviceAn electrified object

Prevention of Electrical Shock

You can decrease the risk of electrical shock and preventInjury. Check all medical equipment before use:

Inspect the power cord for fraying, splicing, and wearCheck the device’s cover for cracks, holes, and other damageCheck all connections

For More Information

Check the Safety WebPageson the Intranet for:

Environment of Care (EOC) ManualsContact information for

your Safety Managers

Use this Intranet link:

For more information, refer to your Department Emergency Manual (Flip Chart) or talk with your Department Safety Coordinator or Manager.

http://phsnet.phsor.org/safety/